Shot heard 'round the world! Bobby Thomson became a Brave after he stole the sign in that 1951 playoff game. I declined to wipe out the seller on all his quarter Braves. Firstly because there were none that I needed. I'm down to only needing Hank and a couple of High Numbers to complete the '55 Braves Team set. Secondly because most of the Braves were in horrible condition. Worse than this. I had to pick this one up though because 1) Bobby Thomson is awesome and 2) this card appears to be haunted. Several zombies appear to be lurching their way towards the stands filled with tasty brains while the ghosts of their previous victims patrol the outfield.
Del Crandall is equally - if not more awesome - and also had to come home with me. Before Javy Lopez and Brian McCann came along Del was arguably the greatest catcher in Braves history. There were a few Hall of Fame catchers that played for the Braves before him like King Kelly, Al Lopez and Ernie Lombardi, but none of them came close to playing 1300 games behind the plate like Del. 2011 NL All-Star starting catcher Brian McCann has only caught 782 games so far. Fun Fact: Mac will pass Joe Torre for 5th all time in games caught by a Brave sometime in the next couple of weeks.
Here's good ol' Ernie Johnson. If you were a Braves fan in the '80s you know Ernie. He's the most underrated announcer ever in the history of baseball. Overshadowd by Skip and Pete, but an absolute joy to listen to when he's on the mic. This is a pretty neat card in that it appears that the light standards are on. You dont' see that in cards from the '50s often. This might be a bona-fide Night Card. I might need to put this in a certain bird's pile. Hoot if you need this one, buddy.
Here's Andy Pafko, the only Brave in the bunch that isn't completely mangled. If this was his 1952 Topps card, in this condition it would probably cost about seventeen thousand dollars. Three years later and a different manufacturer, and it's a quarter. Ah, the joys of vintage cards. Andy's typical 'bat on shoulder' pose works well in this horizontal set. I snagged this one pretty much because another blogger seems to be a big fan. If I passed up this card and he happened to need it it would be Heartbreaking.
This one here I actually picked up, then put back about three times before I finally decided to take it home. This was the typical condition for most of the Braves I left behind. I don't mind a little paper on the border, but when it almost completely cover's the player's hat, that's a bit much. In the end I couldn't resist the man who almost single-handedly beat the Damn Yankees in 1957.
Enjoy 'em while they last, I'll be posting the last team early tomorrow morning.
